In an era of the knowledge-based economy, providing the right information to the decision makers at the right time is critical for their business success. Analytics refers to a broad use of various quantitative techniques supported by the query and reporting mechanism to assist decision makers in making more informed decisions within a closed-loop framework seeking continuous process improvement through monitoring and learning. It equips decision makers with a clear understanding of past outcomes, and uncovers the potential impact of current decisions under various future scenarios.
B&B Analytics is a strategic advisor par excellence when it comes to providing analytics, research and financial technology to family offices, financial advisors and alternative investment managers globally.
Innovative Value Proposition
Founded in 2012, B&B Analytics has equipped its clients with a complete and proven operating model enabling them to deliver enhanced transparency, safety and sustainable performance.
As most of the wealth advisors are focused on analyzing and managing only the bankable assets of their clients, B&B enables its clients to incorporate both bankable and non-bankable investments at every stage of the investment process which makes them unique.
A focus restricted to bankable assets is counterintuitive for two reasons – firstly, most investors have significant investments in non-bankable assets like real estate and private business, and; secondly, the objectives and goals of investors are typically related to their entire net worth (i.e. ‘Total Wealth’) and not just to their bankable net worth.
Moreover, all insights delivered by B&B are within a risk driven framework, which allows clients to evaluate all decisions in the context of risks taken. This improves portfolio stability and enables greater performance control.
A Bespoke and Holistic Offering
B&B Analytics has had the unique experience of serving as a strategic advisor to successful institutions and families, who have drawn upon its knowledge and capabilities to develop long-term strategies for their businesses and investments. This has shaped the company’s opinions on relationships.
B&B firmly believes that, “Every client has a unique situation, which demands a unique solution. We adopt a traditional approach to serving our clients which is deeply rooted in gaining a thorough understanding of their objectives, preferences, affinities and constraints.”
The offerings of B&B allow investment advisors to fully focus on their core function – delivering the right advice to their clients. B&B delivers them peace of mind by confidently shouldering the responsibility of providing them with analytically backed answers and complex research driven solutions.
Through their advisory services, B&B delivers tailored guidance to clients on their specific needs. Careful judgment is applied to recommend the best solutions, shaped by decades of in-house expertise and a vast global network of partners. Alongside this, through cutting-edge technology and analytics, the company provides a comprehensive view of the risk and value drivers of ‘total wealth’.
B&B says, “Just like an architect draws the plan of a house, we help design the wealth structure through a rigorous interview process, aligned to the unique situation and needs of our clients. This also forms the basis of a bespoke asset allocation and investment strategy aligned with their goals and risk taking ability. We help discover and mitigate risks through systematic risk overlays keeping in mind all applicable constraints.”
“Finally, we draw upon our deep industry knowledge and experience of our associates and assist clients with the strategic governance of their companies and real estate. We leverage our global network to facilitate strategic transactions across geographies.”
As technology is vital in the financial market, B&B Analytics works hard to offer clients cutting edge solutions which meet their individual needs. For their end clients, the company offers a sophisticated web based platform for efficient portfolio management. Internally, they utilize cutting edge statistical tools and software packages like R, Python for research and analytics.
Focus on Design and Delivery
B&B can deliver its capabilities via a standalone tech platform, by becoming a virtual extension of a client’s in-house team, or by acting as a strategic partner to optimize operations. Delivery can be customized as an optimal mix of technology and services to cater to each client. Clients ultimately control how they want to engage.
B&B has a design focus. They spend most of their time thinking, debating and improving their analytics platform and services to enhance client experience. Capabilities such as research, risk analytics and investment intelligence, which are core to their value proposition, are developed and maintained in-house. Other capabilities are sourced externally from best-in-class providers and integrated into their platform. This approach has allowed the company to rapidly enhance the breadth and depth of their offering, allowing them to position as a turnkey solution for its clients.
A Complementary Trio
The core team of B&B Analytics consists of Founding Partners, Guido Buehler and Philipp Baretta based in Zug, Switzerland and Rohan Misra, CEO based in India. Rohan looks after the Asia and Middle East regions. Guido is an expert in corporate finance, risk and information technology; while Philipp is an expert in capital markets and investment delivery. Rohan is an investment and risk expert specialized in multi-asset class research and analytics. The core team members held senior positions at UBS and Credit Suisse respectively, where they built and managed large global teams in a collective banking career spanning 75+ years.
Thought on Current Trends
Client expectations are changing and this demands a change in the way they are served. B&B seeks to understand the whole picture, including the impact of investment decisions on their real assets.
According to B&B, Big Data and Machine Learning are paving the way for predictive analytics on securities and markets. Large and varied data sets that blend historical and real time data are being used to develop improved trading algorithms that recognize trends and patterns in prices. This is also finding a widespread application in risk management such as credit modeling and underwriting. Future application to watch out for in the coming year would be fraud analytics and cyber security.
“Business Intelligence is also gaining traction as lot of risk discovery and attribution is being increasingly done with the help of visualization tools. Regulatory technology firms are offering innovative automation of compliance tasks as regulatory burden is increasing across jurisdictions. Blockchain, although in its very initial stages, has generated unprecedented interest as an efficient method to manage large scale transactions in the future”, asserts Rohan.
Successfully Dealing with Competition
As far as investment and risk management thinking goes, B & B has always been a first mover. Their offering combines total wealth within a risk driven approach which is a differentiated and powerful combination.
When it comes to technology, “Disruption has been accelerating and is only going to intensify over time. Not being able to embrace the latest technology will be a significant disadvantage for any market player. We are fast followers in this regard, always analyzing the market’s response to new ideas and quick to adopt when we sense an opportunity.
“Finally, our delivery model, which combines man with machine, enables us to efficiently refine our offering on a continuous basis. We focus not only on delivering the tools to solve a problem, but also participate in addressing specific problems, client by client. By blending services with technology, we stay abreast of a wide range of client specific applications and evolving client needs. This positions us well to deal with competition.”
Trailing Success
The wealth and investment management landscape is witnessing a rapid change. Investors want a digital experience, performance transparency and a larger universe of non-investments. B&B has the people, the technology and the offering to meet these challenges.
B&B’s success is driven by their focus on client impact. They always strive to deliver against the metrics that matter to the clients while maintaining an independent perspective. This has helped them build lasting relationships based on confidence and trust. They deliver customized solutions, always seeking the right solutions tailored to specific client needs. Another important aspect is their emphasis on continuous innovation which is driven by a culture of critical yet collaborative thinking, encouraging ideas through meticulous research and practical validity.
B&B Analytics: Delivering Transparency, Safety and Sustainable Performance
